In the wake of World Patient Safety Day, we aim, with a pragmatic approach, to assess some solutions that can significantly enhance the effectiveness of healthcare professionals and, consequently, patient safety.
COVID EMERGENCY AND EMERGING CRITICAL ISSUES
The COVID emergency has highlighted the critical problem of active and constant patient monitoring, including a communication and alert system for operators, especially in environments more protected from infections where patients are harder to visually monitor, particularly for COVID-19 positive patients.
SEDATED OR NEUROLOGICALLY IMPAIRED PATIENTS
For patients who are sedated post-surgery or have neurological issues (whether transient or permanent), the problem is even more pressing because their condition requires near-continuous presence of healthcare professionals, which is unsustainable within hospital economics.
In these cases, the use of cameras with artificial intelligence and automatic alerts to the nearest operator in case of abnormal patient movements results in a significant increase in the overall efficiency of the department, with noteworthy implications for reducing the stress levels of healthcare staff on duty, as well as ensuring real-time monitoring of hospitalized patients, particularly in intensive and sub-intensive care units.
ACTIVE SAFETY FOR INTUBATED PATIENTS
The safety of intubated patients in intensive and semi-intensive care units is necessarily linked to detecting excessive or dangerous movements, getting out of bed, and immediate identification of fall risks. While these risks may not be completely eliminated as in the most advanced systems, they can certainly be significantly minimized with active surveillance systems using artificial intelligence, benefiting patients, staff, and overall safety in healthcare facilities.
Ultimately, patient safety cannot disregard providing healthcare professionals with tools that act as technological facilitators to support their actions, ensuring increasingly automated risk prevention and active safety measures, with the assurance of almost instant assistance interventions, even in complex facilities.
